Apparatus for edge trimming, sizing and squaring wooden doors



April 19, 1955 P, GRAHAM 2,706,505

APPARATUS FOR EDGE TRIMMING, SIZING AND SQUARING WOODEN DOORS Filed June 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 II a H' III 1' n g m I INVENTOR.

L m, Percy 5. 6/22/2011? N BY 7 April 9, 1955 P. R. GRAHAM APPARATUS FOR EDGE TRIMMING, SIZING AND SQUARING WOODEN DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 18, 1955 United States Patent O APPARATUS FOR EDGE TRIMMING, SIZING AND SQUARING WOODEN DOORS Percy R. Graham, Seattle, Wash.

Application June 18, 1953, Serial No. 362,527

7 Claims. (Cl. 144-117) This invention relates to edge milling devices for sizing doors.

In the manufacture of wooden doors they are ordinarily made oversize and with the side rail pieces protruding a short distance beyond the ends of the doors. In hanging or installing these doors it is common practice for the carpenters to fit each individual door to its frame. One reason that wooden doors are made oversize is that they are liable to shrink between the time they are made and the time they are installed in buildings and they must be made large enough so that, if shrinkage does occur, the doors will still be large enough to allow them to be trimmed and fitted. The shrinkage of door frames is negligible and the frames can be accurately standardized at the time of manufacture. Doors are usually fitted to frames after the frames are installed in a building and this is somewhat of a cut and try job which calls for the expenditure of considerable time and labor in the fitting of each door and may result in an imperfectly fitted door. Also the fitting of each door is rendered more difficult because the edge of each properly fitted swinging door remote from the hinges thereof needs to be slightly beveled to provide a close fit without danger of interference with the jam or frame piece against which it closes, the direction of incline or bevel being determined by the direction of swing, that is right or left swing, of the door.

An object of this invention is to provide simple and etficient edge milling apparatus which may be conveniently used by builders, contractors and the like to accurately size ordinary commercial doors to predetermined standard sizes preparatory to hanging or installing said doors in buildings.

Another object is to provide edge milling apparatus which may be used by builders to size ordinary wooden doors accurately enough so that the sized doors will fit satisfactorily in standard door frames without additional fitting at the time of installation and so that said doors will be interchangeable in the standard door frames they are sized to fit.

Another object is to provide edge milling door sizing apparatus by which the edge of a door remote from the hinge edge thereof may be correctly beveled in either direction, depending on whether the door is to swing right or left after hanging.

Other objects are to provide edge milling door sizing apparatus which is simple in construction, easy to use, eflicient and accurate in operation and one which will save much labor and expense in instances where large numbers of commercial wooden doors are to be fitted and installed in buildings.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a plan view, with parts broken away, showing door edge milling apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention and showing by dot and dash lines a door in an operative position for edge trimming by said apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of the edge milling apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view, with parts in section and parts broken away, looking in the direction of broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detached plan view, on a larger scale than the preceding figures, showing adjustable means for posi- "ice tioning and supporting the edge of a door remote from the milling tool.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the door positioning and supporting means shown in Fig. 4, a position parts of the device may occupy when not in use being shown by dot and dash lines.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of adjustable means used for positioning and supporting one end of a door while the other end of said door is being trimmed, portions of a shelf on which said door positioning and supporting means is mounted being shown in section.

Fig. 7 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation taken substantially on broken line 7--7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a detached perspective view of an L-shaped door positioning member used to support the edge portion of a door.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view showing track means used to support one edge portion of a door carrying table.

Like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views.

This apparatus for edge milling and end milling doors comprises a relatively large horizontally movable door supporting table which is adapted to support a door 16, shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1, so that an edge or an end of said door can be progressively applied to a cutter head 17. The cutter head 17 is carried by the shaft 18 of a motor 19. The motor 19 is supported in any suitable manner from a non-movable table 20.

The edge portion of the door supporting table 15 near the cutter head 20 is movably supported on a relatively long rigidly mounted track frame 21. The track frame 21 supports a fixed track member 22 which interfits with another track member 23 carried by the movable table 15. The medial portion of the track frame 21 is supported on the non-movable table 20 which carries the cutter head 17. The track frame 21 extends outwardly in two opposite directions from the non-movable table 20 and the outwardly extending portions of said track fFram; are preferably supported on suitable legs 24, see

The edge portion of the door supporting table 15 remote from the cutter head 17 is carried on a downwardly extending rigid frame structure 25 which is provided with wheels 26. The wheels 26 are adapted to run on a floor 27, which may be any fairly level floor of material such as wood or concrete.

The top of the table 15 is plane and fiat and is provided with two sets of door positioning and supporting members designated generally in Figs. 1 to 5 by numerals 28 and 29. These door positioning and supporting assemblies 28 and 29 are positioned to be engaged by and to support the lateral edge portion of a door remote from the edge portion of the door which is being applied to the cutter head 17. Also the table 15 has a rigidly attached outwardly extending shelf 30 which is provided with adjustable means designated generally by 31 to engage with an end of a door and position the door for end trimming.

The positioning means 28, shown at the left in Figs. 1 and 2 and shown on a larger scale in Figs. 4 and 5, includes a metal supporting bar 32 flush with the table 15 and extending crosswise of said table 15 and secured to said table 15 by screws 33. A plurality of threaded holes 34 are provided, at preferably two inch intervals, in the supporting bar 32. A plate 35 is adjustably secured to the bar 32 by cap screws 36 which thread into the holes 34. A stop member 37 is secured by screws 38, Fig. 5, to the plate 35. A hinged member 39 is positioned to lie on top of the stop member 37 and has its outer end connected by a hinge 40 with the outer end portion of the stop member 37. An angle bracket 41 is rigidly secured to the hinge member 39 adjacent the hinge 40. An adjustable mounting bracket comprising a base 42 having two upwardly extending end parts 43 and 44 is adjustably secured to the hinged member 39 by a bolt 45 and an adjusting screw 46. The bolt 45 is rigidly secured to the said member 39, Fig. 5, by threading said bolt through said member 39 and through a plate 45a which is embedded in said member 39. The lower end 45b of the bolt 45 is adapted to fit snugly within a hole 45c in the stop member 37 and thus serves as a dowel and helps to insure and maintain correct positioning of member 39 relative to member 37. Also this dowel means helps to relieve the hinge 40 of strain.

The bolt 45 passes through a longitudinal slot 47 in the base 42 of the mounting bracket. The adjusting screw 46 is threaded through the fixed angle bracket 41 and has a jam nut 48 thereon to lock against the bracket 41. One end portion of the adjusting screw 46 is rotatively connected with the upwardly extending end portion 44 of the mounting bracket in such a manner as to provide fine adjustment of the mounting bracket transversely of the table 15 when the screw 46 is turned. The means herein disclosed for rotatively connecting the adjusting screw 46 with the bracket part 44 comprises two nuts 49 threaded onto the screw 46 on opposite sides of the bracket part 44 and soldered or welded to said screw. The nuts 49 do not clamp the bracket part 44 but function as collars to adjustably position the mounting bracket when the adjusting screw 46 is turned.

When the nut on the bolt 45 is loosened the mounting bracket 4244, may be adjusted by use of the screw 46 and when the nut on the bolt 45 is tightened it securely clamps said mounting bracket to the hinge member 39.

A substantially L-shaped door supporting member 50 is adjustably secured to the upright end part 43 of the mounting bracket by at least one screw 51 which passes through an upright slot in the bracket 50 and is adapted to be tightened with its head in a selected one of a plurality of vertically spaced apart conical recesses Sfia. The slot 50b facilitates adjustment of the bracket 50 without complete removal of the screw 51. The lower flange of the L-shaped door supporting bracket 50 is slightly inclined downwardly toward its outer end to conform to the slope at which a door 16 is supported when an edge of said door is being trimmed on a bevel. The bracket 50 is vertically adjustable on the mounting bracket part 43 so as to provide the correct bevel on doors of different width.

The positioning means 29, shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2, comprises a plate 52 which functions similarly to the previously described plate 35 and is adjustably mounted on an inclined support bar 53 by cap screws 57. The cap screws 57 thread into spaced apart holes 54 in said support bar 53. The inclined support bar 53 is flush with the top surface of the table and is secured to said table by screws 55. The support bar 53 is inclined relative to a line transverse to the table and the end of said support bar 53 adjacent the side of the table where the tool 17 operates is closer to the end of the table shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2. The spacing of the holes 54 in the bar 53 depends on the amount of inclination of said bar 53. These holes 54 are spaced far enough apart so that movement of the plate 52 between two adjacent sets of these holes 54 will adjust said plate 52 the same distance transversely of the table 15 as the other plate 35 will be adjusted by moving it between two adjacent sets of holes 34 in the bar 32. The door positioning means carried on the plate 52 is the same as is the previously described door positioning means 37 to 51 inclusive and the parts thereof, in so far as they are shown are correspondingly numbered.

The support bar 53 is inclined, as shown, to minimize the distance an operator who stands at the end of the table shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2 will have to reach to manipulate the door positioning and supporting means 29, it being necessary to keep the door positioning and supporting means 29 out of the way of doors during the end trimming process, as hereinafter explained, and these doors being of different widths.

Preferably an angle shaped guard or bumper member 56 is supported in upstanding relation from the plate 52 by one of the cap screws 57 to help safeguard the door supporting and positioning means 29 from being injured by contact therewith of doors which are being handled alongside of said means 29 in end trimming them.

The door end engaging stop means 31 on the shelf 3%, see Figs. 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7, comprises a positioning member 60 secured by preferably two bolts 61 to the shelf 30. The top surface of the member 60 is flush with the top surface of the table 15. The bolts 61 are aligned transversely of the table 15 and extend through slots 62 in the shelf 30. A plate 63 is provided on the bolts 61 below the shelf 30. The plate 63 serves as a washer common to both bolts 61 and against which the nuts 64 maybe tightened. Several sets of slots 62 are provided at intervals in the shelf 30 to permit the positioning member to be adjusted, preferably at two inch intervals, to take care of doors of different length. The slots 62 provide additional adjustment to allow doors of each size to be varied in length Within the limits afforded by the length of these slots, one reason for this adjustment being to make it possible to provide for different clearances of the doors above the floor level.

An angle bracket 65 is rigidly secured to the positioning member 60 and a hinge, comprising two hinge parts 66 and 67 connected with each other by a hinge pin 68, is secured to the front face of the angle bracket 65. Preferably the hinge pin 68 is positioned a substantial distance above the top edge of the bracket 65 and the hinge parts 66 and 67, above the bracket 65 are outwardly bent to position the pivotal part of the hinge where it will be clear of the doors. The hinge member 67 is movable between the position in which it is shown by full lines and a position as shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 6 to provide an adjustment in the position of a door which will insure a cut of great enough thickness to accurately finish the last trimmed end of a door, as hereinafter more fully explained. Preferably the hinge part 66 and bracket 65 are of narrower width than the hinge part 67, see Fig. 7, so that the part 67 may be more easily engaged by the fingers in moving the same from one position to another.

Two Lshaped door aligning members 70 and 71 are secured to the end of the table 15 shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2. A previously trimmed lateral edge of a door rests against the door aligning members 70 and 71 and the door is properly aligned by said members 70 and 71 while the end trimming is being done. A hand rail and guard member 72 is secured to and supported by the door aligning members 70 and 71 and extends across the end of the table shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2. This hand rail is readily grasped by an operator standing near this end of the table 15 to facilitate moving said table. Also this rail 72 extends outwardly at least almost as far as the shelf 30 and tends to prevent persons from accidentally bumping into the shelf 30 and positioning means 31 thereon.

In the operation or use of this door sizing apparatus preferably two operators are normally stationed near the respective ends of the table 15. These operators handle, manipulate, position and hold down the doors and move the table longitudinally on the wheels 26 and track means 22, 23 to thereby properly apply the edge and end portions of the doors to the cutter head 17. The trimming is done as the doors on the table 15 are being moved in one direction, this being toward the left, Figs. 1 and 2, and the doors are clear of the cutter head 17 and no trimming is done while the table is being moved in the opposite direction.

Before starting to size doors the door positioning and supporting assemblies 28, 29 and 31 are all adjusted to the size of doors which are to be run. Usually a plurality of doors of the same size will be run consecutively and when doors of another size are to be run the adjustments will be changed accordingly. The positioning devices 28 and 29 are adjusted by setting the plates 35 and 52 at the proper locations on the respective bars 32 and 53 and adjusting the mounting brackets 42, 43, 44 toward or away from the cutter head 17 to accurately position the upright wall of the door supporting bracket 50 a distance away from the cutting plane of the cutter head 17 equal to the width of door desired. In a similar manner the means 31 which positions the doors for end trimming is adjusted by placing the bolts 61 in the proper set of slots 62 corresponding generally to the length of doors being trimmed and accurately adjusting these bolts 62 in said slots so as to provide, between the outer face of the hinge member 67 and the cutting plane of the cutter head 17, a distance equal to the exact length of door desired. In making the first cut on a lateral edge of a door the edge of the door to which the hinges are to be attached is applied to the cutter head 17 by placing the door flat on the table 15 with the outer edge of the door resting firmly against the edges of the stop members 37. The door is held firmly in this position while the table is moved from right to left, Figs. 1 and 2, past the cutter head. The hinge member 39 and associated parts may be back out of the way, see dot and dash lines Fig. 5, while this first cut is being made.

After the first edge out has been made the door is usually retracted from the cutting plane of the cutter head 17 by positioning the outer edge of said door on the stop members 37 while the table is being moved back to a starting position. The hinge member 39 and parts carried thereby are then oriented into the position in which they are shown by full lines in Figs. 4 and 5 and the door is turned over edge for edge and the outer edge portion of said door, which has just been edge trimmed, is placed on the door supporting brackets 50 with the edge of the door resting against the upright parts of said brackets 50. The door is held in this position and is again moved past the cutter head 17 to trim and bevel the second edge of the door leaving the two edges exactly parallel and the door of the correct width. The direction of bevel of the door will be determined by the endwise direction of the door on the table 15, thus, referring to Fig. 1, if the head or top of the door is to the right the bevel will be in one direction and if the head or top end is to the left the bevel will be in the opposite direction. The oversize of doors is fairly constant and each stop member 37 is positioned so that adjustment of the plates 35 and 52 along their respective supporting bars 32 and 53 will provide for taking approximately the same amount of material off of each edge of each door. This keeps the side rails of the door of approximately the same width. After the door supporting bracket 50 has been correctly adjusted for doors of one width it will ordinarily not be necessary to change this adjustment for trimming doors of a different width.

After a door has been edge trimmed, as just described, it is turned crosswise of the table 15 and placed with one of the trimmed edges against the door aligning members 70 and 71 and an end of the door against the hinge member 66 of the stop and positioning means 31. The other hinge member 67 is thrown back out of the way at this time, see dot and dash lines in Fig. 6. The door aligning members 70 and 71 insure squaring of the door exactly crosswise of the table 15 for the end trimming operation. After positioning a door as just described the table 15 is then moved far enough to cause the cutter head 17 to trim away at least a substantial amount of the end portion of one side rail of the door. The door is then turned over sidewise and the end trimming of that end of the door is finished from the other edge thus providing a smooth and squarely trimmed end. The grain of the side rails of the door is longitudinal but when the door is end trimmed first from one edge and then from the other edge, as just described, there is substantially no danger of splitting such as might occur at the finish of the trimming operation if the cutter head out from one direction entirely across the end of the door. of the door has been trimmed the door is reversed end for endand the outer end of the door is placed against the hinge member 67 instead of against hinge member 66 and the second end of the door is trimmed in the same manner as the first. In trimming the last end of the door an amount of material equal to the thickness of the hinge member 67 is removed.

The relatively long interfitting track members 22 and 23 provide a firm support for the edge of the table adjacent the cutter head 17 and insure movement of the table in a straight line past the cutter head so that accurate work may be done. Also the track members 22 and 23 permit quick and easy dis-assembly by merely lifting the edge of the table.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of this invention but it will be understood that this disclosure is merely illustrative and that changes may be made within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In door sizing apparatus, a door supporting table mounted for longitudinal movement in a straight line; a driven cutter head positioned adjacent one lateral edge of said table; transversely adjustable door positioning members carried by said table in transversely spaced relation from said cutter head; other door positioning members hinged to said first mentioned door positioning members; and an L-shaped door supporting and positioning bracket carried by each of said hinged door positioning members and movable therewith into a door engaging position in front of the first mentioned door positioning member and having a flange whereon a door is supported in inclined relation to the table when the hinged door positioning member rests on the first mentioned door positioning member.

After one end 2. In door sizing apparatus, a door supporting table mounted for longitudinal movement in a straight line; a driven cutter head positioned adjacent one lateral edge of said table; a least two door positioning members transversely adjustably mounted on said table in spaced relation from said cutter head, whereby the edge of a door remote from said cutter head may be supported against faces of said door positioning members; a hinge member hinged to each door positioning member for movement into and out of a superposed position relative to the door positioning member; a mounting bracket adjustably carried by each hinge member; adjusting screw means connected with each mounting bracket, whereby the mounting bracket may be adjusted transversely of the table; and an L-shaped door supporting and positioning bracket vertically adjustably connected with each mounting bracket and overhanging the door engaging face of the door positioning member when the hinge member is in superposed position on the door positioning member.

3. In door sizing apparatus, a door supporting table mounted for longitudinal movement in a straight line; a driven cutter head positioned adjacent a lateral edge of said table; at least two spaced apart door positioning members transversely adjustably mounted on said table in transversely spaced relation from said cutter head and in door positioning relation to an edge of a door remote from said cutter head; and a door end positioning member carried by said table and positioned adjacent one end of said table in longitudinally offset relation to said first mentioned door positioned members, whereby a door is positioned by said last mentioned door positioning member for end trimming.

4. In door sizing apparatus, a door supporting table mounted for longitudinal movement in a straight line; a

' driven cutter head positioned adjacent a lateral edge of said table; spaced apart door positioning members transversely adjustably mounted on said table in longitudinal alignment adjacent the lateral edge of said table remote from said cutter head; a shelf extending transversely outward from the edge of the table remote from the cutter head adjacent one end of the table and in longitudinally offset relation to said door positioning members; and other door positioning members mounted on said shelf, whereby a door is positioned by said last mentioned door positioning members for end trimming.

5. In door sizing apparatus, a door supporting table mounted for longitudinal movement in a straight line; a

driven cutter head positioned adjacent a lateral edge of said table; spaced apart door positioning members transversely adjustably mounted on said table in longitudinal alignment with each other and adjacent the lateral edge of the table remote from the cutter head; a shelf rigid with the table adjacent one end thereof and extending transversely outward from the edge of the table remote from the cutter head and longitudinally offset relative to said door positioning members; another door positioning member mounted on said shelf at a greater distance from said cutter head than are said first mentioned door positioning members and adjustable in a direction transverse to said table; and a door positioning part movably connected with said last mentioned door positioning member for selective movement into and out of door end engaging position.

6. In door sizing and squaring apparatus, a door supporting table mounted for longitudinal movement in a straight line; a driven cutter head positioned adjacent a lateral edge of said table in the path of material overhanging the edge of said table; spaced apart door positioning members transversely adjustably mounted on said table in longitudinal alignment with each other and adjacent the lateral edge of the table remote from the cutter head; a shelf rigid with the table adjacent one end thereof and extending transversely outward from the edge of the table remote from the cutter head and longitudinally offset relative to said door positioning members; another door positioning member mounted on said shelf for engagement with the end of a door and at a greater distance from said cutter head than said first mentioned door engaging members; and at least two spaced apart door aligning brackets supported from the end portion of the table adjacent said shelf in a plane at right angles to the direction of movement of the table, said brackets providing means for squaring a door supported for end trimming with one end thereof in engagement with said last mentioned door positioning member.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 in which a combined hand and guard rail is supported from said door aligning brackets and extends crosswise of the adjacent end of the table.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 53,018 Marble Mar. 6, 1866 8 Schleicher Apr. 23, 1878 Melby Feb. 17, 1942 Bjork July 25, 1950 Johnson Aug. 12, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1859 

